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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Texas music community suffered a profound loss |
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with the death of mentor, singer-songwriter, and club owner Kent |
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Finlay of Martindale on March 2, 2015, at the age of 77; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Brady, Mr. Finlay grew up playing music with |
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his family and began performing publicly in high school; he |
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completed his bachelor's degree in English at Texas State |
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University in 1961 and went on to earn his master's degree in |
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education; after teaching in San Antonio, he joined the Gary Job |
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Corps in San Marcos; and |
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WHEREAS, During the early 1970s, Mr. Finlay often drove to |
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Luckenbach to play songs with folk hero Hondo Crouch, alongside |
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Gary P. Nunn, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Willie Nelson; the experience |
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inspired him to open a honky-tonk, and in 1974, he renovated an old |
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building next to the railroad tracks in San Marcos and named it |
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Cheatham Street Warehouse; like its more famous but shorter-lived |
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Austin counterpart, the Armadillo World Headquarters, the venue |
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helped incubate the progressive country movement, hosting concerts |
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by Doug Sahm, Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe |
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Shaver, and many others; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Finlay helped launch the career of an aspiring |
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young country artist, George Strait, taking him under his wing |
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after he made his debut at Cheatham Street with the Ace in the Hole |
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Band in October 1975; he gave the group a Wednesday-night residency |
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that proved wildly popular, and he drove with the singer to |
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Nashville to help him cut demos and look for a record deal; after |
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achieving superstardom, Mr. Strait continued to acknowledge the |
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importance of Mr. Finlay's steadfast support; the club later |
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granted Stevie Ray Vaughan a regular Tuesday-night gig, which often |
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featured precocious preteens Charlie and Will Sexton; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 1970s, Mr. Finlay started one of the first |
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songwriters' circles, and the weekly event became a launchpad for |
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generations of Texas singer-songwriters, among them James |
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McMurtry, Terri Hendrix, Hal Ketchum, Tish Hinojosa, and Bruce |
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Robison; a gifted writer himself, Mr. Finlay helped countless |
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musicians improve their craft, and he cowrote songs with such |
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artists as Todd Snider, Slaid Cleaves, and Walt Wilkins, and his own |
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well-loved compositions included "They Call It the Hill Country," |
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"Plastic Girl," and "I'll Sing You a Story, I'll Tell You a Song"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Finlay sold Cheatham Street in 1983 to |
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concentrate on his family and his own band, High Cotton Express, but |
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when the new owner faltered, he stepped back in to rescue the venue; |
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eventually, he turned the operation over to his children, but he |
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remained involved and stayed at the helm of the songwriters' |
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circle; he continued swapping songs and stories until the very end; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Through his gift for spotting genuine talent and his |
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tremendous generosity in nurturing it, Kent Finlay played a key |
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role in shaping contemporary Texas music, and those who were |
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privileged to share in the richness of his life will forever |
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treasure their memories of his warmth, kindness, and wisdom; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Kent Finlay and extend |
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sincere condolences to the members of his family: to his children, |
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Jenni Finlay and her husband, Clay McNeill, Sterling Finlay, and |
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HalleyAnna Finlay; to his granddaughter, Annie Finlay; to his |
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former wife, Diana Finlay Hendricks; and to his other relatives and |
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host of friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Kent |
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Finlay. |